TORRES: Spartan LO-FI Sounds. The birth of a songwriter.

From the heart of Nashville arrives this little gem of lo-fi style and pop-folk tinges that involves the debut of Mackenzie Scott, or what is the same: Torres. An album full of intimate songs that dive inside the oceans of a 22-year old girl. And, what does Torres keep inside those oceans? Despite her young age, she surprises us with a great dose of sentimentality, crudity and realism. Themes like “Honey” relates the story of a woman immersed in the bitterness of a relationship, where an almost exhausted voice opens the song and, as the anger of the woman grows, the distortion and the whipping percussions invade our ears.

Others like “Jeaolusy and I” or “Moon&Back” or “Waterfall”come full of fresh American folk and minimalist pop sounds, doused with melancholy and a voice that soak through the most armoured chests. “Chains” is one of those austere and atmospheric compositions that shackle us until we arrive at an hypnotic and awkward final that disappears at a stroke. Then, others like “November, baby” or “When winter’s over” swing us softly with her sweetest and tenderest side. An homonym album recorded in less than a week in Tony Joe White’s house, characterized by the spontaneity and brilliance of the first shots. Pure and genuine things spring up showy without many rehearsals and Torres album is a clear example of that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NISMOpGrNpk1

–What was your first contact with music and how has it evolved to this point?

My mother used to play the piano when I was young. I began taking lessons on the piano when I was 7 years old, then eventually began to play the flute as well. Finally I taught myself to play the guitar when I was in high school. The guitar continues to be my main instrument (besides my voice).

– Who are your main musical influences?

Joan Jett, Ryan Adams, Tori Amos, Johnny Cash, and Brandi Carlile are a few of them.

– What can we find in this homonymous album? What does it sound like? Present it a bit to us.

There are lots of sounds: guitars, bass, cello, violin, synthesizers, drums, and more. It’s a bit experimental, but still cohesive, I think. The instrumentation is sparse. It’s a warm record meant for a harsh winter.

– How personal are your songs? Are they based in experiences you have lived or are they precisely a break-out from your daily life?

Everything I write is personal on some level. I can’t say that they’re all based on my own experiences, but many of them are.

– Tell us a bit about the recording experience.

Ryan McFadden engineered and co-produced this record. We recorded in Tony Joe’s home studio and it was really good experience.

– There is a lo-fi and sharp-realistic halo that hangs around this work. Was this premeditated and sought? Did you have that idea in mind before recording it or it simply came up? I guess that recording in less than a week helped to get this kind of sound…

The sound we achieved in the studio can be attributed to our use of a tape reel to track the album. My intention was to have the record sound like a live show, so in addition to the analog recording method, we also tracked the album live in the studio. There were very few overdubs added, so when the songs were finished, they were finished. It’s an extremely real way of recording—when you’ve tracked to tape, there’s no going back and erasing it. It’s quite human.

– There are clearly folk and minimalist pop overtones in this album. Are you planning to explore other genres in future records?

Every future record I make will be a reflection of where I am at that point in my life. The possibilities are boundless; I have no idea what my next record will sound like. It could be a synth-pop record! It could be a classical, orchestrated, elaborate thing like something Sufjan Stevens would make. I’m keeping all of my options wide open.

– What inspires you the most at the time of composing?

Ache. Any kind of ache.

– Is there any artist or band you would love to collaborate with?

St. Vincent.

–In ten years you see yourself doing…

This. Making music and touring the world to share it with people. I would also love to have a modest apartment in New York in ten years. We’ll see.

–Next tour dates. Any plans of coming to Europe?

I have a small tour planned for late-February. I’ll be playing in Chicago, St. Louis, New York, and Washington D.C. I hope to make it over to Europe as soon as I possibly can. I’m so looking forward to making that happen.

About the AuthorMaria Mieres

Graduated in Business by Universidad de Oviedo and Liverpool John Moores University and a melomaniac. After my one year stay in the musical city par excellence, Liverpool, I started to associate myself with this artistic field in a deeper way, singing and playing the guitar in bands like Autotan, Seven Tin Stars and in my solo project with Nacho Iglesias, and collaborating in musical and cultural magazines as Mondo Sonoro and Revista FSHN. But not only is music my passion. Cinema, literature, travelling, photography and gastronomy make my life a bit sweeter within this grey world that is my current and remunerated job: accountant in the Engineering Company Grupo TSK.